Mel Lastman was born a salesman. Whether it
was peddling rotten radishes to his Kensington market neighbours
as child in Toronto; selling a refrigerator to an Eskimos
to pull in business as the millionaire owner of the Bad Boy
appliance store chain; or selling the new city Toronto to
the world, Mel Lastman has always been selling.
And all these years, Lastman has helped sell something else
- newspapers. Reporters and columnists who have followed,
and been part of, the Mel Lastman saga attest to his irresistible
appeal. He is brash, opinionated, outlandish and a folk-hero
to his constituency. With an astonishing approval rate he
served two terms as mayor of Toronto - and before that, ten
as mayor of North York - touting infrastructure, tourism,
and big business. But while highly publicized blunders such
as shaking hands with the Hell’s Angels and destroying
Toronto’s Olympic bid with racist comments seemed to
highlight Mel’s shortcomings, they only masked more
serious debacles at City Hall.
Lastman’s personal life has also been turbulent and
public. Almost thirty years after the case, Toronto Star crime
reporter, Jocko Thomas, discloses details of Marilyn Lastman’s
1974 kidnapping. Reporter Adam Vaughan recalls the death threats
he received from Mel Lastman after Marilyn’s shoplifting
incident became news. And in 2000, after his second-term victory,
Lastman shocked the public by admitting to a long-term affair
with a former employee, Grace Louie. Her adult sons, Kim and
Todd Louie, brought Lastman to court in a high-profile paternity
suit. In the documentary they reveal why they felt the need
to do so.
The documentary features reporters and columnists, politicians,
and close associates, including Toronto Blue Jays owner Paul
Godfrey, who speak of Mel’s bravado and the backroom
smarts that have helped one of Canada’s most powerful
politicians survive more than thirty years in the public eye.
Original Air Date - November 4, 2003
Mel Lastman selling a washing
machine
Links
Mel
Lastman (City of Toronto Web site)
Read
Mayor Mel Lastman's farewell speech
Mel
Lastman (from Wikipedia: online Encyclopedia)
Mel Lastman.com
(an unofficial Lastman "tribute" site)
Bad Boy Furniture
and Appliances
(Note: CBC does not endorse the content of external sites)
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